Photo credit: TASK

LECTURE & DEMONSTRATION

NEXT ARTISANS series
Woodworking and Wood Carving

7PM - 8:30PM, Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Murasaki Hall at The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles
(5700 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90036)

Please register HERE
Free, RSVP Required
This program will not be recorded

The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles is delighted to welcome this year's two selected young artisans from Kyoto, Japan, who will demonstrate their skills and give a talk about their passion and ambition for Japanese arts and crafts.

This program is in collaboration with the Five Senses Foundation.

Five Senses Foundation
Five Senses Foundation (FSF) is based in Seattle, WA, and supports, preserves, and celebrates traditional Japanese arts. Its larger mission is to inspire people, especially youth, to live harmoniously with nature. Understanding and practicing these arts – today threatened with extinction – leads to a more sustainable and mindful lifestyle, while combating dehumanizing prejudices and enhancing cross-cultural understanding.

The Collaboration Between Five Senses Foundation and the Traditional Arts Super-College of Kyoto (TASK)
The Summer Short-Stay Scholarship Program is FSF’s principal program. The program features a cultural/student exchange with TASK, the leading Japanese institution for traditional arts in Japan. The program’s mission is to help these students become traditional Japanese arts “ambassadors” and leaders in their artistic fields.
During their short-stay in the US, students are exposed to a variety of local people/places, including a corporate campus tour, visit to local museums and art studios, and private art collection tours.  The students also give presentations at local events to demonstrate their skills, mastery and dedication.
 

ARTISANS

Photo credit: TASK

Hideaki Kido is a junior at TASK majoring in woodworking.  Having grown in an orchard in Hokkaido, Japan, he has always had a kinship with natural wood. There are many different types of wood, and each has distinct characteristics such as hardness, grain pattern, and colors. At TASK, he enjoys learning the intricate differences of each type of wood, and the challenge to create beautiful, as well as functional objects.

Photo credit: TASK

Yurika Matsuno is a junior at TASK majoring in wood carving. She is most attracted to the process of making things by moving her own hands. The act of carving with a knife is a process of subtraction, which requires high concentration.  The feeling of being deeply immersed in one thing and the sense of forgetting time’s passing is such a fulfilling experience that she can't get anywhere else. While learning traditional techniques, she wishes to continue pursuing the values of moving her hands to create her artwork.